Windows Server 2008 R2 SP 1 Beta includes two notable enhancements

I am not sure when service packs became incremental updates to product functionality, but that is the case in today’s competitive landscape. Microsoft is working feverishly to keep pace with demanding IT environments — so much so that new features are being rolled into products via service packs.

The very competitive virtualization race between VMware and Microsoft drives this behavior; for instance, after Windows Server 2008’s release, the R2 release of Windows Server 2008 added even more functionality to Hyper-V to try to keep pace with the competition. The Service Pack (SP) 1 Beta for Windows Server 2008 R2 continues this trend with two new features optimized for virtualization: RemoteFX and Dynamic Memory.